Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art presents the Vancouver premiere of the retrospective exhibition GEORGE CLUTESI: ḥašaḥʔap / ʔaapḥii / ʕc̓ik / ḥaaʔaksuqƛ / ʔiiḥmisʔap from January 20, 2024 – January 19, 2025. The exhibition is an exploration of the life and legacy of Clutesi, whose actions have left an indelible mark on the preservation and celebration of the Nuu-chah-nulth community’s cultural traditions and customs. Featuring an extensive collection of Clutesi’s artworks, the exhibition further honours his legacy through striking displays of archival photographs and news clippings of his varied achievements, a documentary film about his long-lasting impact, and a curated selection of artworks from contemporary Nuu-chah-nulth artists and scholars, inspired by Clutesi’s activism and scholarship. The name of the exhibition, written in the Tseshaht language, honours Clutesi’s many celebrated traits: ḥašaḥʔap (keep, protective) / ʔaapḥii (generous) / ʕac̓ik (talented) / ḥaaʔaksuqƛ (strong willed) / ʔiiḥmisʔap (treasure). A series of ancillary events will support the exhibition, including an opening celebration on Saturday, January 20, 2024, an artist panel discussion, workshops, a curatorial tour, and a book club event. For admission information and a full list of events and registration details, visit: billreidgallery.ca

Feature image: George Clutesi, Mask of Plenty, 1944 – Courtesy of the Royal BC Museum

The Museum of Anthropology (MOA) at UBC reopens its doors to the public on June 13, 2024 at 5pm, following an 18-month closure that saw the successful completion of cutting-edge seismic upgrades to its Great Hall, coupled with updated interpretations and new displays of Northwest Coast Indigenous art. As part of the reopening, MOA will present the world premiere exhibition of To Be Seen, To Be Heard: First Nations in Public Spaces, 1900–1965, on display until March 30, 2025, in the Museum’s Audain Gallery. The immersive, multi-media exhibition explores the diverse ways that First Nations people in BC represented themselves as Indigenous in urban public spaces, during the period of potlatch prohibition and other forms of erasure in Canada. Looking back through rich archival material reveals the diverse ways that First Nations worked to be seen and heard striving to have their rights recognized—rights to their lands, their laws and their future. For admission details and exhibition information, visit: moa.ubc.ca

Feature image: 1929_Alberni Valley Museum [PN01873]

The Museum of Anthropology (MOA) at UBC reopens its doors to the public on June 13, 2024 at 5pm, following an 18-month closure that saw the successful completion of cutting-edge seismic upgrades to its Great Hall, coupled with updated interpretations and new displays of Northwest Coast Indigenous art. As part of the reopening, MOA will present the Western Canadian premiere of the exhibition in Pursuit of Venus [infected], on display until January 5, 2025, in the Museum’s O’Brian Gallery. Created by famed Māori artist Lisa Reihana, a digitally animated interpretation of the French Neoclassical scenic wallpaper Les Sauvages de la Mer Pacifique—which portrays harmonious encounters between Europeans and Polynesians amidst a Tahitian landscape—depicts a decidedly darker narrative, exposing the oppressive and often violent exchanges absent from the utopian colonial portrayal. This provocative work, which has been presented in museums and galleries worldwide, seeks to disrupt notions of beauty, authenticity, history and myth. For admission details and exhibition information, visit: moa.ubc.ca

Feature image: Video still from in Pursuit of Venus [infected]. Courtesy of the artist and Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki